Mission

My mission is to enrich Jewish life by synthesizing tradition, beauty, learning, art, and creativity into engaging new forms of expression.

Thoughts on What I Do and Why

The making of Jewish art can be a holy process. The intensity, thought, care and devotion one expends in other spiritual matters can be applied to art as well.I seek to enlist every gift of heart and mind, of body and soul in each work regardless of time or effort. If I do this faithfully, I trust the work will communicate its content and convey its devotion.

I seek that each creation should be:

Firmly based in authentic Jewish tradition, well researched, and have an educational and spiritual component as well as an aesthetic one.

Innovative and fresh with that spark of creativity that makes it surprising, inviting and delighting. It should move and inspire the viewer, owner or participants.

Of the finest design, materials, quality, craft and workmanship.

I am aware of the gifts I have been given, and have come to believe that the most appropriate and life-enhancing way to respond to a gift is to give it on to others.

MY WORLD

Some worlds are seen; some are unseen.
The world I invite you to enter is both seen and unseen.
Parts of it have been brought to reality, but most of it remains to appear.

My world is a Jewish world, but a Jewish world that has not existed before, a visionary world that I am slowly bringing into being.
It is a world of meaning and beauty.
A world of values and ideals.
A world of commitment and devotion.
A world of necessity and urgency.
It is a Jewish world of inclusion for all Jews.
It is a world that invites non-Jews to experience and hear the Jewish message—as crucial to the universe today as when it was first announced 3500 years ago.

My world began with a vision, a vision I have gradually, patiently, and hopefully faithfully been embodying every since.

My world is firmly based on a profound trust that what is created honestly, thoughtfully and soulfully will be responded to deeply and genuinely. One of the most gratifying things to me is that my world has been entered with the same delight by Ultra-orthodox to Reform. Each year, my Haggadah is lectured from at secular kibbutzim and community centers around Israel.

The fruits of my world include books and prints, objects and sculptures, buildings and spaces, journeys and itineraries, programs and presentations, teaching and sharing, new ways of educating, fresh ways of inspiring, touching and sharing.

I have slowly gained confidence in my visionary world as feedback has accumulated over the years.

My simple process is one of Head, Heart and Hand:

Head. To immerse as deeply, humbly, respectfully, and authentically as possible into Jewish tradition and text. To listen. To learn.Heart. To transform the contents of this learning into ideas as fresh, innovative, appropriate, creative and imaginative as possible.Hand. To execute and craft the result with devotion, loving care, and concentrated attention.

My career has been a gradual expansion of using this process in many ways: the revival of the hand illuminated Ketubah, the creation of a Passover Haggadah, the Tree of Life Shtender, the design of buildings.

But for each project I have finished, there are many that remain undone. These are not merely hopes or whims, but concrete ideas for real pieces and projects that have passed the following rigorous criteria:

A project must be Jewishly authentic. It must educate, inform, inspire Jewishly. It must be meaningful.

A project must be fresh and creative. It must delight the viewer, the owner or the participant.

A project must be beautiful and well crafted.

It must be feasible, possible to produce and economically viable.

There are currently some scores of such projects in the works. This list decreases as projects are completed, grows as new ideas are added.
Some projects are modest, straightforward and virtually ready to go. Some are vast, ambitious, multi-year projects.
Some are designed to elicit a bit of delight, expand and expound a Jewish concept, text, value or idea.
Some are designed to transform the Jewish world.

Some worlds are seen; some worlds are unseen.

Some worlds are seen: You can see some of the completed results of my vision on my website or better yet, at my studio in Jerusalem.

Some worlds are unseen: To enter the world of my future vision or to join me in bringing this world to light, give me a call.